Moonlight
by twilightstarx
Summary: Two weeks after the death of Sawada Tsunayoshi, an unexpected meeting between two guardians lead to a horrible discovery. Pairings: 1827, 6927, 10027 and others.
1. Prologue

The cloud was grey, like dust that gathered, mimicking cotton balls. The blue sky that once stretched across the country was devoured by the ominous clouds.

A lone figure padded silently through the thick forest, imprinting his foot prints into the muddy ground. Rain began to drizzle, and the wind seemed more hostile than before, but he didn't care.

Just two weeks ago, he was sent to Europe to complete a mission. And just a week ago, the news of the death of the Vongola reached him… And for one whole week, he stayed at Europe… until he finally decided to go back to face the dreaded truth.

He continued the trek through the forest, using his trident to remove any obstacles, until he spotted a clearing, and in the middle lay what he had been searching for the last couple of hours.

A black coffin.

_Tsunayoshi…_ he thought. _What a pitiful place to be in…_ The rain poured down, and for the first time, he wished that everything that had happened in the past few weeks were just illusions. Walking closer towards the clearing, he noticed that he wasn't alone; someone stood in front of the coffin motionlessly, like a statue.

"Kufufu, long time no see… Hibari Kyoya.." he greeted.

Hearing the footsteps, the person suddenly turned around, alert, and with his tonfas out, ready to strike. "Who's there?" Hibari demanded.

"It's just me." The mist guardian emerged from the trees and smiled his signature smirk. "I didn't think anyone else would come to visit the vongola in this horrible weather. What a coincidence…"

The ex-prefect lowered his weapons and narrowed his eyes. "Why are you here?"

"The same reason as you." Mukuro moved towards the coffin with a few easy strides. His bony finger traced delicately at the 'X' on the coffin.

"I didn't come here to visit the Vongola" Hibari simply stated as he watched the illusionist.

"Kufufu… Then I wonder who brought these fresh flowers?"

After that, no one spoke anything; the two guardians simply stood in the drizzling rain, gazing down at the coffin. Mukuro bent down and felt the smooth, glassy texture of the surface. "Hibari Kyoya, what will you do now?"

"I'll do what I usually do. His death won't affect my life."

Mukuro chuckled, but did not smile. "I'm surprised at your unerring answer. Seemed like you have been practicing that line a lot." He watched, slightly amused, at how Hibari's calm façade slipped a bit, before he continued, "I have a favor to ask of you."

The cloud guardian stared at the odd-coloured eyes, and he could see that beyond the layer of calmness, was sorrow and pain that the illusionist didn't bother to hide.

Mukuro smiled. "Kill me."

Hibari stared, eyes widened for a moment, before he said. "Why would you seek for death?"

"Because I have no reason to continue living this life." The illusionist gingerly fished a rose from his pocket.

"You're pathetic, thinking like an herbivore."

"Kufufu, then kill me, like what a carnivore would do." He was about to place the flower on top of the coffin when he suddenly froze. "What the..?"

"What?" Hibari frowned as he stared at coffin. "What's wrong?"

"You won't believe this…" Mukuro suddenly stood up and grasped his trident more firmly than before. The number in his eyes changed rapidly as he gently tapped the surface, and the lid of the coffin slowly dissipated into mist. When the mist cleared, the two guardians froze.

The coffin was empty.

Hibari stared, unable to register what he was seeing. "What the..?"

"Someone broke into the coffin. The lid was an illusion created by someone…" Mukuro murmured as he inspected the coffin.

"Who the hell would steal a corpse?" Hibari gripped his tonfas tighter, trying to remain calm. "More importantly, why the hell would someone steal it?"

Mukuro didn't say anything. Instead, he reached into the coffin and gently took something out.

It was a piece of marshmallow, and on the side were four words, which were printed neatly.

_Too late. He's mine. _

"That damn Smiley Bastard... I'll bite him to death.."

* * *

Byakuran whistled happily as he strode through the white hallway of the Millefiore and stepped into his wide, spacious office. After locking the door behind him, he smiled

_Today is the day…_

He walked over to the nearest wall, and gently removed the plain white clock that hanged there, which revealed a number pad that was under it. He entered the password at a speed that showed how often he had done it for the last few days.

_1…0….0…2…7… enter_

The wall immediately swung out, revealing a narrow stairway that seemed frighteningly dark. Byakuran walked down, which lead him to a dim room. Scattered moonlight shone through the barred window, and landed on an unconscious figure in the corner of the room.

_So beautiful…_

The figure was resting against the wall, with his thin delicate wrist chained slightly above his head. His face was as pale as the white walls, and the moonlight seemed to make his whole figure glow.

Byakuran gently touched the cold cheeks.

_You belong only to me… and no one else.._

His hand hovered to the side of the head where the bullet had wounded the figure, but the wound had almost completely healed, so it wasn't noticeable. Soon his fingers traveled down to the chest, feeling the texture of the suit and…. he stopped. Pressing his palm lightly against where the figure's heart was, he could feel the soft pounding of the heart. He smirked.

_My Sleeping Beauty… I hope you had a good dream…_

He watched as the figure's face slowly regained the humane color.

_But it's time for you to wake up._

The figure stirred, and the chain that held his hands tightly clinked together from the movement. The brown caramel eyes opened, still dazed from the long sleep.

"Eh.. is this heaven?..." A soft whisper was heard.

Byakuran moved closer and gently lifted the figure's head and smiled. "Good morning Tsuna-kun~"

Almost immediately, as if splashed by a bucket of cold water, the Vongola's eyes shot opened, fully awake, and gasped when he saw Byakuran. The chain rattled as he tried to move away, unsuccessfully. The Vongola shut his eyes, hoping that it was just a nightmare.

"Neh Tsuna-kun…" Byakuran leaned forward and breathed into his ears, amused at how the Vongola suddenly jerked away, causing the chain to bite into his delicate wrist. "This isn't a dream… This is reality…"

"You can't escape from me, and no one can take you away…"

_You're mine to play with, to break, and to love..._

_You belong to me...... and only me_

* * *

**Author's NOte: Hehe new story x]! I had this story in mind for a longgggggg time. Hope you guys will enjoy it ! Please r&R!  
And don't worry, I'm still going to update my other story!**

* * *


	2. Captive

**Eek I caught a cold .__.!  
But yay finished Ch 2!~  
This story is basically my twisted version of the TYL arc XD  
Hope you'll like it~~  
Warning: Implied sex?**

* * *

Everything seemed so unreal, yet he knew that this _was_ reality. Tsuna took a deep breath as his mind processed the situation right now. He was in a cold, dim room, possibly a prison, and his hands were chained to the wall. Looking down, he noted his clothing; though it was scratched and not in the best condition and his shoes was missing, he could tell that it was the same formal attire that he had worn to a certain meeting… The last meeting of his life…

"Why am I alive?" Tsuna spat as he glared at the man before him, showing no signs of fear. "And why am I here?"

Byakuran chuckled. "As expected from the most powerful mafia boss, I'm surprised you could remain so calm in this situation." He moved back and sat down on the floor, making himself comfortable. "Everything was part of my plan."

"What did you do? You killed me didn't you?"

"Yup" Byakuran smiled slyly.

"Then why am I alive-" Tsuna suddenly froze as Byakuran swiftly pulled a gun from his pocket and placed the tip against his forehead. The Vongola shivered uneasily at the familiar feeling as the memory of his death repeated in his head.

"This was the exact same gun that had killed you just two weeks ago" Byakuran slowly guided the tip of the gun down until it was pointing directly at the Vongola's heart. "Hm… let's see… where should I start?" He wondered, before he continued, "Ever heard of a death bullet?"

"Death bullet?" Tsuna tried to remember such thing, but it was hard to recall any information with a gun against his heart.

"It's not surprising that you don't know. It was a special bullet manufactured and passed down by the Millefiore family a long time ago. Not many people knew of it since the bullet was extremely obscure and useless." Byakuran removed the gun and placed it back into his pocket, "Now… do you have any idea of what the effect of the bullet might be?"

Tsuna's eyes widened as his mind raced. The answer to the question seemed too absurd, yet it was the only possible answer that would explain why he was still fucking alive. "It fakes death…?"

"Bingo, the bullet puts the person to a death-like coma that is impossible to detect. Even the most professional doctor would never know that." Byakuran continued. "The person would eventually 'wake up' two weeks later, and of course, there will be side effects." Coincidently, Tsuna felt his head swayed a bit from dizziness. "Who knew such a useless bullet could allow me to capture the Vongola so easily~"

_This is… unbelievable. _Tsuna thought bitterly. "So you shot me with it, and took my body and hid it here?"

"Nope, I decided to play with your guardians. I let them take your corpse so they could have a proper funeral and mourn over your 'death'." He laughed. "My, you should have seen how depressed some of them were. If only they knew the truth."

Tsuna clenched his fist. If not for the chains, he would have punched Byakuran and beat him into a bloody pulp.

"After, they placed your fancy coffin somewhere in the forest. So I broke in and retrieved your body. And that's how you ended up here."

"Then it means that the members of the Vongola are well aware of the disappearance of my body?"

"Nope, they only found out today." Byakuran smirked. "I replaced the broken coffin with an illusion, therefore no one found out about it until your illusionist came back to Italy from his mission."

Tsuna bit his lips. Even if his guardians found out, they wouldn't know that he was still alive and imprisoned by a maniac.

As if reading his mind, Byakuran said, "You never know, I gave them a clue. I placed a marshmallow inside the coffin"

Surprised, Tsuna asked. "And why would you do that?"

"Because that would provoke them into invading the Millefiore. Without their boss, they probably wouldn't be able to plan a good invasion." Byakuran then murmured deviously, "Then I can take this chance and kill them off one by one"

Enraged, Tsuna was about to kick Byakuran's stomach hard, but Byakuran swiftly blocked the attack and used his knee to lock Tsuna's legs to stop any further movement. "My, that was quite dangerous~"

"You.. You bastard! Don't you dare underestimate my guardians!" Tsuna hissed. "And why would you set this whole thing up just to capture me? If you're thinking of using me to get ransoms, you should think again…" His sentence died off as he felt somewhat nauseous and weak… _No… I have to stay strong._

"Did you think I would do all that just to get money? How naïve… Tsuna-kun."

"Then what else would you want to do this for?" Tsuna demanded, trying to ignore the headache that was starting to surface.

Leaning forward, Byakuran smiled. "What… do you… think?" His hands gently caressed the brown hair that seemed to have grown even longer during the Vongola's two weeks of unconsciousness. _The side effects are starting to take place…_ He mused, noticing that Tsuna's carefully simulated coolness was slipping.

Tsuna turned his head to the side abruptly, "Don't touch me" _I have to try to escape. _

"Why can't I touch you?" Byakuran whispered, his lips brushing Tsuna's ears. "You belong to me."

"Tch," Tsuna said coldly, "No matter what you're planning to do to me, sooner or later, my guardians will come and kick your ass." _I have to stay calm._

"How mean Tsuna-kun~" His hand trailed down and rested on Tsuna's belt. "Ne… I'm quite disturbed at how you could still be so full of yourself right now… You haven't shown any sign of fear yet. I want to see your weak and vulnerable self…" His smoldering gaze held Tsuna's eyes as he swiftly pulled his pants down, startling Tsuna. "Let me hear you scream." His eyes were hungry, like a ravenous predator looking at the feast before him.

_This is bad… _Tsuna thought desperately, "Byakuran! Don't you dare-" He gasped when he felt his boxers being tugged. With all his might, he tried to lift his leg up to kick the man's hand away. However Byakuran grasped his feet and forcefully pulled his boxer down to his knees. "Ngh!!" He cried out in surprise when he felt the cold marble floor beneath him and the sudden gush of chilly air.

"What a cute expression, Tsuna-kun!" Byakuran's hand hovered over to where the boxer had once been before, "But I want to see more."

Tsuna shut his eyes, preparing himself for the worse. _I have to endure this…_

* * *

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Gokudera growled hostilely. "Go say your crap to someone else, I'm not in the mood of some fucking joke." Really, he was in such a bad mood. After the death of the tenth, nothing seemed to matter anymore, and everything seemed to be getting onto his nerve, especially when a man, who looked as if he had jumped into a swimming pool, came to his room at night to tell him that the Tenth's coffin was broken into. Actually he was more enraged at the fact that this statement came from the person who didn't attend the Tenth's funeral and didn't seemed bother by his death.

"Kufufu… it's fine if you don't believe it." Mukuro sighed, "I'm disappointed though, I thought you would be interested in this piece of information, considering your love for Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Gokudera immediately flashed his dynamite out, "You son of a bitch! Don't you dare utter the Tenth's name like that."

"Oya oya, getting so worked out. You shouldn't lose your temper just because you are depressed." The mist guardian smirked.

"You heartless bitch! If you-"

"Maa maa… what's with the commotion at night?" The rain guardian interrupted and came into Gokudera's room."Eh.. Mukuro! When did you come back? And why are you soaking wet?"

Gokudera sighed. "You dumb shit, it's pouring rain outside, that's why"

Mukuro smiled. "I was just taking a walk outside when I spotted the Vongola's coffin in a clearing. And that's when I found out that the coffin was broken into."

"Broken into?" Yamamoto's smile disappeared, replaced by a frown.

"Yes, and this was what I found inside." Mukuro reached into his pocket and took the marshmallow out.

Yamamoto took it and observed the writing at the side. His face paled as he pondered over the meaning of the four words, even Gokudera felt anxious. "What the…"

"Well you guys can keep that. There'll probably be a meeting between the guardians tomorrow, so we can discuss it." Mukuro made his way to the door.

"Wait." Gokudera growled. "Do you really have no feelings for the Tenth?" He stared into the mis-matched eyes, wanting to search for the answer. "If you weren't concerned, you wouldn't bother telling us all this in the middle of the night right after your discovery."

Mukuro paused, his expression unreadable, before he laughed. "Kufufu if you think I cared for Sawada Tsunayoshi, then think again. I merely stumbled over his coffin and discovered something unusual and thought it was amusing. I'm just treating his disappearance as a… 'game' to entertain me." Then he turned and left, before any dynamites could hit him.

"That damn bastard…" Gokudera snarled, "I don't get why the Tenth treasures him so much."

Yamamoto gently patted him on the head, "I'm sure the Tenth has a reason. Anyway, I think you should get some rest, you look awfully terrible. Plus I have a feeling tomorrow will be a busy day for the Vongola Family, so rest well!"

"Yah…" Gokudera mumbled as they both stared at the marshmallow in his palm.

* * *

Mukuro strode across the dim hallway, leaving a trail of water that dripped from his drenched clothing. He reached the end and turned left, and noticed a dark figure leaning against the wall.

"Kufufu Hibari Kyoya, what a far place to eavesdrop from…" Mukuro greeted.

The cloud guardian looked up nonchalantly, "That was quite a speech, the one that you said to them. Who would've guessed that it came from the same person who had been seeking for death just an hour ago."

Mukuro's eyes darkened. "Oya oya… You should be thanking me for not mentioning seeing a certain guardian visiting the Vongola's coffin in the middle of the night."

The two remained quiet in the deadly silence. Finally Hibari spoke. "I think Tsunayoshi is still alive."

The blue-haired man nodded in agreement, "I agree, even though the whole thing doesn't make any sense."

Hibari remained expressionless. "But you can investigate it tomorrow right?"

"That was what I had intended to do." Mukuro smiled darkly. "Kufufu… we really do think alike."

Then without another word, they parted silently to their own room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxNext Morning xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The first thing Tsuna felt when he woke up was pain. He was still chained up and in the same position, yet every part of his body hurt like hell. His wrists were badly bruised and cut by the chains; every small movement that he made could bring tears to his eyes. Opening his eyes, he saw the dreadful evidence of yesterday's incident everywhere. The dried blood on the floor… the marks, the…

_Okay calm down…_ He breathed in deeply, careful to stay still to avoid anymore pain. The rain splattered heavily outside, and through the small barred window, he could see the ominous clouds gathering. Examining his surroundings, he realized that the room looked nothing like a prison. The walls were plain white, and the floor was a luxuriously marble white, well except for the bloodstains and some unpleasant stuff that decorated it...

In front of him was a narrow stairway that lead to god knows where. He remembered hazily that Byakuran had to punch in a password in the number pad on the wall beside the entrance before he left. _That is the only possible way to go out…_

If he could manage to free himself from the chain… and enter the right password, he could escape… _But I don't know where the stairway would lead to… _

A soft padding sound disrupted his thoughts; Tsuna looked up and saw a light in the stairways. Someone was coming down the stairs…

"Good morning Tsuna-kun~" The person emerged from the shadow with a tray of food… The smell of deliciously baked bread reached Tsuna's nose, and he suddenly realized how starved he was… yet he couldn't bring himself to accept food from the man who had done terrible things to him.

"Go away." Tsuna's voice was rasp; he probably lost most of his voice from yesterday night.

Byakuran feigned a frown. "What a mean way to greet me, you still haven't learnt your lesson yet?" He gently set the trays beside Tsuna and smiled with amusement. "I'll forgive you though, since I wasn't that _gentle_ with you yesterday." He leaned in and gently kissed the mark that he had left on Tsuna's neck.

Tsuna immediately tried to push the man away, but the action of lifting his legs up brought excruciating pain, causing Tsuna to stifle a cry by biting his lips.

"Oya.. that must have hurt a lot" Byakuran mused, watching the tear that was threatening to roll down Tsuna's face. "Don't cry." He gently kissed the tear away, earning a deadly glare from the Vongola.

"I hate you…" Tsuna spat, his voice quivering.

"I guess I'll have to make you love me" Byakuran began to unbuckle his own belt, and he smirked when he saw fear resurfacing Tsuna's face. "Don't worry, I'll be _gentle_ this time" The emphasis on the word 'gentle' only increased Tsuna's trepidation.

"Don't…" Tsuna didn't want to suffer that same kind of pain and humiliation again. He was already dirty and hurt…. "You just did it yesterday…"

"That doesn't mean I can't do it again and again" Byakuran leaned closer.

_Someone help me…_

Tsuna shut his eyes and tried to shut his senses away.

_Please…_

Before Byakuran could do anything, a soft thumping was heard… like someone knocking on the door from faraway, but he knew that it was someone knocking on the door of his office. "Hm.. I wonder who dares disturb me right now…" His smiled darkly, anger visible in his voice.

Tsuna opened his almost teary eyes, and saw Byakuran putting his belt back on and fixing his clothing.

"Ne.. Tsuna-kun, I'll let you off the hook this time. Looks like I have a visitor." Byakuran walked over to the entrance of the stairways, and punched in a sequence of numbers…and he wasn't aware of Tsuna's intense gaze since he was too irritated at someone interrupting his 'Tsuna' time.

1…0…0…2…7..

The door opened and he disappeared into the dark stairways.

1…0…0…2…7…

Tsuna's eyes widened as he repetitively chanted the numbers, suddenly glad that Reborn had taught him how to watch the hand movements to determine the numbers.

It was possible to escape… thanks to whoever was knocking on the door.

_Now all that is left is the chain._

* * *

Byakuran came out from the darkness and to his office. He lifted the plain white clock and entered the password in the number pad again. The wall swung in and closed, leaving no evidence of it ever being opened. He carefully placed the clock back and made his way to the door that led to the hallway.

"Who is it?" He asked

"It's me Byakuran-sama"

Byakuran pressed a button on his desk to unlock the door, and Leonardo Lippi came in.

"So what brought you here today? I don't remember you being a service personnel here." Byakuran smiled, his eyes were unreadable.

Leo flushed nervously, "No no no… I'm just here to deliver a report for you." He walked over to Byakuran's desk and placed a small stack of documents on it. "May I ask you a question?" Leo asked timidly.

Byakuran reached for a bag of marshmallow and opened it. "Sure."

"Why did you lock your door today? You don't usually do that unless there's an invasion." Leo asked curiously.

Byakuran paused for a second, before he said. "I'm sure any boss would want some privacy sometimes."

"Then what happened to the tray of food that you brought in earlier?" Leo inquired further, still with that genuine curious and innocent look.

The unexpected question caught Byakuran off guard, but he quickly replaced it with a chuckle, "My Leo-kun, have you been _observing_ me for the whole morning?" He suddenly grasped Leo's wrist and pulled him forward, until their faces were only an inch away. "Don't tell me you're… interested in me..?"

Leo immediately flushed and pulled back. "No no you're misunderstanding me! I was just wondering that's all!" He quickly walked to the door. "Remember to read the documents Byakuran-sama!" Then he left hurriedly.

Byakuran smiled darkly. _You never fail to surprise me… Leonardo Lippi…_

* * *

As Leo walked down the corridor, he turned right into the men's washroom. Inside everything was sparkly white.

_Disgusting_… _putting on an act like that_

He stared into his own mismatched eyes in the large mirror as he washed his hands.

_That blood stain on his shoes…_ _that must be it…_

He dried off his hands with a tissue.

_Tsunayoshi must be in his office somewhere.._

He closed his eyes.

_Please wait for me…_

* * *

**  
Author's Note: Thanks for reading!!!~ I don't know if this fic should be T or M~ But I think I might change it to M just in case I passed the border _! Anyway sorry if anything was confusing or didn't make any sense! There will be more 6927 and 1827 stuff next chapter~~  
**

**Please read & review! It motivates me to write more X3! **


	3. Rumours

**OMGG! Sorry for the super late update! I took a long break off and now I'm back :3! Thanks you for all the awesome reviews! It really motivated me to continue X3!!!**

**Warning: This is sort of at the borderline of M _! I'll eventually have to change the rating to M in the next few chapters~~**

**Anyway onto the story!~**

* * *

Shouichi walked through the corridor, making sure everyone was doing what they were suppose to do.

_Such troublesome work…_

He yawned as he continued his way down, passing several people who greeted him with respect, passing the mechanics room, checking to see how the new weapons were developing, and so on. As he was about to walk back, quiet whisperings immediately caught his attention. Curiously he sneakily peeked through the door where the voices were coming from. He saw two researchers huddling around like some high-school girls gossiping about the newest rumours.

_Are they slacking off? They should be experimenting with our new time travelling technologies! _Shouichi frowned and was about to interrupt them when he heard something…

"Mak, haven't you heard? The Vongola's corpse had been stolen!" Someone said, whom he could recognize as Lloyd, a scientist.

"I heard about that too… Rumours of it are spreading everywhere." Mak, a researcher, replied.

_HUH? _Shouichi's eyes widened. He had never heard of anything like that… and even if it's true, Byakuran would have told him..

"I wonder why someone would steal it though…" Lloyd whispered.

"Duhh, the Vongola had such a perfect face and body, anyone would want to keep him to gaze at him everyday!" Mak squealed, as he took out a picture of the Vongola and shoved it into Lloyd's face. "Isn't he so perfect? I envy all of his guardians, they can see him everyday… well before he died." He ended gloomily as he gingerly placed the picture back into his pocket.

Lloyd immediately hushed him. "Shush! We're not suppose to discuss the Vongola's death. It's against the rules here. You'll get punished severely if caught."

"Right. Oops" Mak quickly shut his big mouth, but soon he opened it again. "You know… I also heard rumours that Byakuran-sama stole his corpse and kept it in the Millefiore." His voice dropped low, which made it difficult for Shouichi to eavesdrop.

"What? That impossi- Actually that's possible… Byakuran-sama seemed to favour the Vongola ever since he first laid his eyes on him."

"Hm.. now that you mentioned it… I rarely--- " The sentence was immediately cut off when Shouichi stepped into the room, eyes narrowing on both of them.

"Shouichi-san!" They frantically formed a line and greeted in unison, bowing slightly.

The said person frowned. "You guys should be working right now; break time was over a long time ago."

"Yes Shouichi-san!"

"Also…" Shouichi adjusted his glasses. "Where did you guys hear all those nonsense?"

"What nonsense?" Mak said a bit too fast.

"About Byakuran-san stealing Vongola's corpse." Shouichi replied matter-of-factly, his eyes boring into both of their eyes.

Lloyd sighed and answered truthfully, "Many people were talking about it."

Shouichi frowned. "Many people?"

"Well, everyone was talking about it during break time." Lloyd paused, "But I heard the most from him." He jabbed his finger at the researcher beside him.

Shouichi turned to Mak and asked. "Who did you hear it from then?" His eyes seemed to be sending off the dangerous don't-you-dare-lie-to-me-or-get-punished vibes.

"Ehh…" After a few long minutes of racking his brain for that one piece of memory, Mak mumbled. "Shoot.. I don't remember!"

"You really don't?"

"Yes Shouichi-san."

A moment of silence passed before Shouichi sighed. "Fine then.." He said as he turned around, heading to the door. "Report to me if you remember the person. And also tell that person to stop spreading nonsense around or he'll face severe punishment."

"Yes Shouichi-san!"

"I'll go report to Byakuran about this then." Shouichi was about to leave when Mak blurted out.

"Shouichi-san, so is it really not true that the Millefiore stole the Vongola's body?"

"Of course not…" Shouichi sighed, slightly annoyed. "Byakuran would've announced beforehand if he actually planned to do something like that…However, regarding the disappearance of the Vongola's body, I'll have to ask him about that. Now go back and do your work."

"Yes Shouichi-san!" The researchers said in unison.

Turning around, Shouichi walked out of the room._ I'll need to talk to Byakuran-san about this…. _He thought as he made his way to Byakuran's office, after walking through the never-ending hallways. As he stopped in front of the large, polished door, he sucked in a deep breath before knocking. _Please don't be napping at such a crucial time…_

The door swung open, and Shouichi walked in, and bowed when he spotted Byakuran sitting at his table. "Byakuran-sama I-"

He couldn't finish his sentence since Byakuran interrupted him. "Shou-chan… I thought I had made it clear that I don't want to be bother unless there's an emergency."

"Ah… s- sorry!" Shouichi stuttered, suddenly he didn't know what to say. The way the white-haired man was smiling at him made him quite uncomfortable, since it was a sign that Byakuran wasn't in a good mood.

"First Leo-kun, and now you…" He reached over for a bag of marshmallow and opened it. "So what do you want?"

"Ahh no I just want to report about a recent rumour that was spreading around the Millefiore." Shouichi started.

"And how is that important?"

"It's about Sawada Tsunayoshi…" Shouichi was unsure if he should continue, since he felt a sudden change of atmosphere in the room. He looked up and saw Byakuran smiling and gesturing him to continue. "Um… people were saying that his body got stolen."

"It's true." Byakuran nodded and popped a marshmallow into his mouth.

Shouichi's eyes widened. "Y-you didn't tell me something that important?" He suddenly felt betrayed. _And I thought I was one of his most trusted people…_

"I didn't want you to worry about it." Byakuran simply said, "Since you were quite shaken after his unfortunate death. It was a shame that he was accidently killed during the meeting." He paused to eat another marshmallow, before adding. "Is that all to the rumour?"

"No.." Shouichi said, "There's more…" And as he continued… he noticed the slight changes in Byakuran's expression…

* * *

"Ah!" Mak shot out of his seat and exclaimed.

"What? You discovered something?" The scientist looked at him weirdly.

"No, I suddenly remembered who I first heard the rumour from!"

"Who?" The others asked curiously.

"It was Leonardo-san…" Mak whispered almost inaudibly. "Please don't tell Shouichi-san! I don't want to get him into trouble."

"Ya okay. By the way, how did you know him? I thought he always sticks with Byakuran-sama."

"Oh, this morning I saw him in the computer researching room. He was searching on information about the Vongola." Mak murmured.

"Ehh isn't that illegal? If Byakuran-sama finds out…"

The researcher smiled. "Ya so when I snuck up from behind him, he got all flustered and scared." He laughed at the memory, and continued. "So I told him that I won't tell anyone since I admire the Vongola. He was still sceptical until I flashed him the picture of Sawada Tsunayoshi in my pocket. And that was how we started talking about him."

"Wow… I never thought Leonardo-san would be interested in the Vongola.." Lloyd commented.

"Ya.. Interesting isn't it? His eyes seemed to light up when he hears that name." Mak smiled. Soon their conversation faded away as they both continued their work and research.

* * *

_How long has it been since Byakuran went upstairs?_

Praying that whoever that was occupying Byakuran's time would stall time for him, Tsunayoshi winced as he struggled with the hostile chains. He knew his wrists were terribly wounded already; yet he couldn't just give up like this.

_I have to try to free myself before he comes back. If only… there was some sort of pin that I could use…_

A wave of nausea hit him, and he swayed, his head bumping into the wall behind him. His eyes darted to the tray of food beside him, which contained a piece of freshly baked bread and a glass of water. The aroma of food lingered in the air.

_Why wouldn't the smell dissipate after so long?_

He was more than hungry; he was famished, yet he couldn't bring himself to accept food from the enemy. Reborn had strictly taught him that, and the arcabaleno was never wrong. Who knew what kinds of drugs are secretly mixed within the food or drink?

Carefully, he gently lifted his legs, and pushed the tray of food away from him, hoping that it will alleviate the feelings of hunger in him. He stared out the window, the calmness of the scenery outside contrasted significantly with how he was feeling right now. The round, faint image of the moon, covered with layers of clouds, hanging lazily in the sky.

_It's going to rain… _He thought melancholy. _I wonder how they are all doing…. _His heart wrenched at the thought.

Light, ominous footsteps echoed down, and Byakuran appeared from the darkness, smiling. "Hi Tsuna-kun! I was planning to come here earlier, but I had so many businesses that needed to be taken care of." He sat in front of the Vongola, "Oh my… You look awfully terrible," His ivory eyes glanced at the untouched tray, "What a stubborn person, are you waiting for me to feed you?"

"Go away…" Tsuna said, his voice hoarse; he hadn't realized he was that thirsty… "Just leave me alone." He had hoped that Byakuran wouldn't bother him today…

"Neh… you do know that I'm not in a good mood right now, right?" Byakuran murmured.

For the first time, Tsuna glanced up. Even though Byakuran was smiling, his eyes were cold, so cold that Tsuna reflexively, almost involuntarily, shrunk back against the wall.

"Shou-chan just came and informed me about a rumour that was spreading throughout the whole Millefiore." Byakuran gently stroked Tsuna's face. "Now many people think that your corpse is hidden somewhere in the Millefiore, and they are eager to find it."

Tsuna twisted his head away from the touch, but Byakuran forcefully cupped Tsuna's chin and turned it so their eyes met. "And you know why I'm mad? It's because you belong to me and only me… I would never allow anyone else to see you or touch you…" He suddenly leaned down and kissed Tsuna forcefully, sucking the air out of him.

"Ngh…." It was too unexpected. Byakuran had never kissed his lips until now. Tsuna tried to pull away, but a hand was fisted in his hair, locking him there in that position._ I can't… breathe.. _ When he tried to open his mouth to breathe, Byakuran took this chance and slipped his tongue in, trying to get more of Tsuna's sweet taste. Tsuna immediately did the only thing that he could do. He bit the invading tongue.

Shoving Tsuna away, Byakuran gently wiped the blood that dripped from his mouth with his sleeve. "Now.. that wasn't so nice.. Tsuna-kun." He smiled, yet his eyes were piercing daggers.

Pushing his fear aside, Tsuna spat at the ground and stated. "You're wrong."

"What did you say?"

"You're wrong… I don't belong to you, and I'll never belong to you." Tsuna continued in a whisper, "I belong to someone else already…"

"Then I'll kill that 'someone' and everyone else, until there's no one left except for you and me." Byakuran gently spread the Vongola's fragile legs apart; his fingers lingering on the hips.

Even as the hand began to travel inward, Tsuna still remained expressionless, and stared into the ivory eyes. "If you think doing it would make me love you, then you're wrong again."

"It was never my intention to make you love me. As long as I have you, it's enough." Byakuran leaned forward and whispered in Tsuna's ear.

"You- ngh.." Tsuna bit his lips, trying to ignore the overwhelming sensation that was washing over him as Byakuran's hand slipped under his pants. "You… sick bastard…Nghn!" To weak and nauseous to move, Tsuna shut his eyes for the inevitable to happen._ I must endure this.. I won't let him break me down… _He tried to close his mind down, to shut his feelings away, so he won't feel anything…

"Tsuna-kun…" Byakuran murmured as he gently nipped his neck, while his hands continued the ministration.

_No… I'm.. gonna… _He tried to ignore the pleasure slowly building within him… yet he couldn't stop himself from concentrating on the touches… Large calloused hands, so warm and gentle… as if it belonged to a particular guardian. With his half-lidded and dazed eyes, he looked in front of him and saw not Byakuran… but someone else…

His heart skipped a beat, and suddenly he jerked forward and cried out "H-Hibari!". His body shuddered as he came all over.

It was when Tsuna opened his eyes that he realized what he had done. He had imagined that it was Hibari touching him… He looked up and saw Byakuran staring dangerously back at him, sending shivers down his spine.

"Oh my that was unexpected…" Byakuran commented as he licked his hands, voice shaking slightly from anger. "How dare you say another man's name in front of me… You can only look at me and think of me.." The uncontrollable fury mixed with jealousy seemed to built up, as he continued. "I'll punish you severely… Vongola"

Then before Tsuna could respond, he felt something thrust into him, threatening to rip him apart. "AHhh!" He screamed, tears brimming his eyes from the agonizing pain. "Stop!!!" Last time Byakuran had actually prepared him before going in, but this time he didn't bother. The chains rattled erratically as he frantically tried to escape from the pain, even when the cuts on his wrist began to bleed. "S-stop it!!"

Byakuran kissed the Vongola's lips, muffling his screams as he thrusted once more. When he pulled away, he gazed at the large caramel eyes that were close to tears. "I didn't want to do this to you. But a punishment is a punishment." He licked the tears away. "Next time you'll know not to anger me." Reaching over, he grabbed hold of the chain and yanked it so it was detached from the wall.

_Why did he do that?_ Tsuna wondered in dazed, feeling too sick to comprehend anymore. Had Byakuran decided to free him?

His faint slight of hope was shattered when Byakuran pushed him down to the cold, marble floor and murmured lustfully into his ears. "Now… let's continue… in a different position."

And once again, agonizing screams filled the room.

* * *

Mukuro's eyes opened as he felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. He had spent the whole day controlling different bodies at the same time. It had allowed him to spy the Millefiore and mess with the people there. However it was tiring, being in several bodies at once for a long period of time. At least he was able to acquire some useful information. Yet even so, he still couldn't confirm whether _he_ was dead or alive.

_Why am I doing so much?_

_Why am I trying so hard?_

Yawning, he stretched, and his feet dangled lazily from the velvet couch that he was currently resting on.

_Because I want__-_

No, stop thinking about it… stop becoming hopeful… stop believing…His heavy eye-lids closed as he tried to fall asleep, even with the splattering of the never-ending rain and the whipping sound of the violent wind. He tried to think of nothing…or to think of anything but _him_.

Him, who gave him hope, yet shattered it.

Him, who gave him happiness, yet destroyed it.

Him, who made promises, yet broke them

_I'll always be with you, Mukuro! _

Liar.

"Mukuro?" A voice rang like the bell, so foreign… yet so familiar. "Why are you sleeping without a blanket? You're gonna catch a cold!" The voice, overflowing with concern, lectured.

The mismatched eyes shot open and darted to the source of the sound, and he saw Tsunayoshi, standing next to the couch, with a pout on his ever so angelic face. The illusionist gaped at the brunette, with all sort of agonizing emotions flowing through him.

_Why… why must you keep reappearing…_

"Mukuro? Are you alright..?" Tsuna frowned as he leaned closer. His slightly transparent body seemed to glow under the moonlight that was cast through the window. "Mukuro?"

And the last thing he saw was that gentle smile, before the image faded away like the mist.

"Kufufu…" He laughed at himself, almost hysterically. He hated this; he hated his own idiocy… Ever since the death of the Vongola, he couldn't stop himself from feeling… empty. He wanted to wipe the Vongola's existence away from his mind, to forget about him. Yet the more he tried, the worse the ache became. It came to the point where he would unconsciously create an illusion of Tsunayoshi. Sometimes the illusion seemed so real and tangible, yet when he reached out to it; it would just fade away like the mist, leaving him alone with his indescribable pain.

Mukuro closed his eyes and covered his face with his gloved hands. With Tsunayoshi's image still fresh in his mind, that emptiness in his heart seemed to expand and… ache.

_Why do I feel like this?_

The rain drone on, splattering against the window. Somehow, with Tsunayoshi's voice still ringing in his mind, he fell asleep, and the memory of the past unfolded before him.

* * *

**Author's note**

**Omg sorry for the lack of 6927 and 1827. I originally planned on writing that in this chapter, but the Millefiore stuff turned out longer than what I had expected XD! So as you can see, next chapter will mostly be flashbacks of 6927~ (And of course there will be 1827 too *__*!)  
I hope you guys don't mind the OCs in the beginning. They're sort of needed there, but they probably won't appear again XD!**

Anways please read& review! X3   
**  
(also go check out the poll regarding my next update! x]! )**


	4. The Unexpected

**WOw this chapter took me so long to finish o__o I thought I would have more time in the summer, but I found myself cramming for summer school and exams instead .__.! Sorry for the super super late update!!  
**

**Also... OMG u guys seriously make me so happy 33!!! THanks for all the awesome reviews!! Keke I wanna say more but Imma save it till the end XD!! Anywayss on to the story!**

* * *

The stench of blood and sweat filled the spacious-white room.

He looked up and saw his uniform in the corner, as if he had thrown it haphazardly across the floor.

He looked down and saw his hands, dirtied with blood stains.

With his violet eyes, he gazed at the figure in front of him, lying on the floor like a crippled angel…

"Tsunayoshi…" Byakuran whispered, as he gently caressed the soft, silky hair. Under the faint moonlight that shone through the window, Tsunayoshi looked like a holy martyr, sleeping peacefully on a bed of crimson rose.

He knew he had lost control of himself. He had allowed his anger and jealousy to take over his actions. Leaning down, Byakuran kissed the single tear drop that was caught on the Vongola's eyelashes, and he whispered, "Sorry.. I didn't mean to hurt you.." He stood up and grabbed his uniform, and gently covered Tsunayoshi with it.

As he began to walk up the stairs, his eyes narrowed with a deathly glint. In his mind he knew exactly who was to blame for this whole mess. It was time to take action; the sooner he could get rid of the rest of the Vongola Guardians and anyone related to Tsunayoshi, the better it'll be….

Sitting at his desk, Byakuran turned on the speaker and spoke, "To Captains of the Millefiore, a meeting is to be held in 10 minutes, please be prepared to attend" Though his voice was cheerful and care-free, it was exaggerated enough for the Millefiore to know that Byakuran was simply not in a good mood right now.

* * *

_What is this pain..?_ The moment when Tsuna was conscious, he felt cold, hurt, and broken like a ragged doll. Waves of excruciating pain coursed through him… The silence was unbearable and the dense smell of blood and sweat nauseated him even more. He didn't dare move when he realized that a small flinch of his body would cause great pain to his lower back.

_How long will I have to stay here? _

_How much more will I have to suffer?_

Without opening his eyes, his mind wandered back into the darkness as he slipped back into his sleep.

* * *

_It was pouring rain outside the Vongola's secret Airport, and Mukuro stood unmoving, his intense gaze directed at the Vongola boss, who was holding a black umbrella above them. _

_"Neh Mukuro… If you stand here any longer, you'll miss the flight." Tsuna smiled, showing no sign of discomfort at their close proximity._

_The mist guardian __remained silent as he snaked one arm around Tsuna's waist and pulled him closer. They both stared at each other._

_"Ku fufu…You're so sly." Mukuro murmured bitterly._

_"And why would you say that?" Tsuna looked away and stared at the raindrops that were gliding down the umbrella. _

_"You knew that I would stop you from going to the Millefiore, so you decided to send me to Europe so I wouldn't hinder you. Isn't that right?"_

_"Mukuro…" Tsuna shook his head. "you really should get going."_

_"No." Mukuro turned Tsuna around so he was facing him. With his hands on the brunette's shoulder, he said. "I'm not going unless you promise me that you will not go anywhere near the Millefiore." _

_"Mukuro this isn't like you--" _

_"Promise me."_

_"…" Silence enveloped the two. After what seemed like eternity, Tsuna finally whispered. " I can' promise you that…" _

_"Why not?" Mukuro raised his voice slightly, demanding for an answer._

_"I have to settle things with the Millefiore…" His eyes were sorrowful. "I can't just leave things like that." He rested his forehead against Mukuro's chest. "Please understand me.."_

_Mukuro caressed the long silky strands of hair with his hands. "Kufufu… you __would really do anything for Reborn." His voice was laced with bitterness. He felt the brunette trembled at the name of his beloved and recently deceased teacher. The illusionist felt the slight pang of jealousy. If he was the one who had died, would Tsunayoshi also mourn and cry day and night like how he had done after Reborn's death?_

_"Mukuro… though I can't promise you that I won't go to the Millefiore, I can promise you something else." _

_"…" _

_"I promise that I 'll always be with you. So please trust in me…" __Tsuna promised, his eyes pleading for him to believe in his words.. _

_"So if I come back from my mission, you'll still be here for me to report to?"_

_There was a pause, before he spoke. "… Yes." Tsuna smiled sadly. "Mukuro, it's time for you to go…"_

_It was then Mukuro knew it. He knew it all along. No one could deceive him, especially Tsunayoshi. He knew that the hesitations in Tsuna's speech were not his imagination; he knew that the smile plastered on Tsuna's face was forced, and he knew… yet he pretended not to. He pretended that everything would be fine… Pretending always hurts less…_

_"Muku-" He decided to shut Tsuna up with his lips. He didn't want to hear anymore. He didn't care about the freakin airplane that was waiting for him. He didn't care if people saw them since the rain was heavy and it was getting dark. All he cared was the fact that he felt like he might lose Tsunayoshi if he let go of him right now._

_As his lips __continued possessively, he realized that Tsuna wasn't resisting, and it frustrated him. He held the back of Tsuna's head and deepened the kiss, not giving him the chance to take a breath. _

_"Ngh…" Tsuna gasped for air, but still he did nothing to stop Mukuro. _

_The mist guardians hated this… he hated how Tsuna was just letting him do whatever he wanted. This wasn't like the Vongola. This wasn't like him! The more he kissed, the more his heart seemed to ache. _

_He knew, yet he pretended not to__._

_Suddenly, a strong hand was on his shoulder and he was forcefully jerked out from under the umbrella, away from Tsuna's warmth, and into the unsympathetic rain. _

"_Mukuro Rokudo, You're late for your flight."_

_Mukuro turned around and saw Hibari Kyoya, standing there completely drenched in the rain. He wondered how much the prefect had witnessed or heard. _

_"Hibari I thought I told you to stay in the headquarter." Tsuna said quietly. _

_The cloud guardian ignored him and said to Mukuro, "You should hurry."_

_"Kufufu… You're right.." The illusionist simulated a smirk, "I guess I'll be going then…" He could feel the coldness dripping from his midnight-blue hair and seeping through his suit. _

_"Wait.." Tsuna gently tugged at Mukuro's sleeve, "Do you need an umbrella?__ It's raining pretty hard.""_

_Mukuro stared into the large caramel eyes, before replying, "It's fine" _

_"__Then be careful not to catch a cold during your mission!" _

_"Oya I know." They always had this kind of conversation before a mission. However…it felt different this time._

_"Then Good-bye, Mukuro." Tsuna smiled sadly._

_Please don't say that…_

_"Good- bye Tsunayoshi." He gave one last look at Tsunayoshi, at everything that he loved about him. His silky chestnut-brown hair, those large caramel eyes, that pale, soft skin, his fragile-looking body, and everything and anything of him. Then he turned around and followed Hibari._

Please don't say anything else…

_However as he walked along with the cloud guardian, even with the continuous sound of the drizzling rain, he could still hear the barely inaudible murmur that had escaped from Tsuna's parted lips. _

"_I'm sorry." _

_Those inevitable words seemed to echo in his mind and acted like daggers within him. Yet he pretended that he didn't hear it. He pretended that his heart wasn't throbbing. He pretended that it was only rain that was dripping down his face. He pretended that this wasn't the last time he'll ever see Tsunayoshi._

_He was a man of deception, __so he might as well deceive himself._

"_We're here." Hibari said nonchalantly, successfully breaking Mukuro's chain of thought.__ They were in front of the airport now._

"_Kufufu.. you came all the way here just to escort me to the airport? You must have other intentions." Mukuro__'s mismatched eyes stared at the ex-prefect's. _

_Hibari's eyes narrowed. "Let me tell you this. I won't let Tsunayoshi go to the Millefiore, even if I must apply force. _

_"Then I better see him safe and sound when I come__ back."_

_The two nodded, and they both parted off to their own way. Even as Mukuro walked into the airport soaking wet, he still didn't bother to dry himself, instead, he allowed the rain to drip down from his hair and down his face. _

_And he wondered why the rain tasted salty…_

Mukuro jolted awake with his heart pounding. _Kufufu… a dream of my memory…. _He laughed bitterly as he stared at the clock. It was 4 a.m. He swiftly got off the couch that he had fell asleep on and dressed himself and made his way out into the hallway, where he met another guardian, who had just walked out of his room.

"Oya… good morning." He greeted.

"You're going right now?" The cloud guardian questioned when he spotted the trident in the illusionist's hand.

"Ku fufu… of course, I can't waste anymore time idling here."

"Hmph…. Don't screw up, or I'll bite you to death."

"You too…" He hesitated before continuing, "By the way… I remembered that before, at the airport, you said you would keep Tsunayoshi away from the Millefiore, I wondered whatever happened to that?"

Hibari paused, before he answered, "I was too careless."

Seeing that the ex-prefect wasn't going to say anything else, Mukuro just turned and left. "I'll see you later…"

When the mist guardian was out of his sight, Hibari called out. "Kusakabe."

The said man scurried out from the darkness and bowed. "I want you to wake all the guardians up and gather them in the meeting room." Seeing no movement, he added, "Immediately."

"Yes!" Kusakabe answered and hurried down the corridor and began knocking on every single guardian's door while yelling into the intercom. "Emergency meeting! Emergency meeting!"

One by one, doors opened and the guardians began to walk out, most of them still yawning and complaining.

"What the hell… it's four in the morning." Gokudera swore under his breath.

"Maa maa… just bear with it, since it's about Tsuna" Yamamoto murmured, and the storm guardian stopped grumbling.

"Ah.. morning meeting to the extreme---." Ryohei said weakly with barely any energy. Lambo nodded and followed them, trying walk steadily.

As the guardians seated themselves around the long table in the meeting room, they naturally turned to look at the end on the table, the Vongola's seat, only to remember that it wouldn't be occupied. The atmosphere became immensely tense.

"Where the hell is that mist bastard?" Gokudera growled as he stared at the only other empty seat.

"He left to do something." Hibari said calmly as he came into the room.

Gokudera fumed "That fucking lazy bastard… Why does he always ditch the important events.."

Hibari ignored the comment. He was the last to sit down, so all the guardians' eyes were on him, waiting for him to say the reason for this emergency meeting, but instead, Hibari announced nonchalantly, "We're going to invade the Millefiore. If Tsunayoshi is somehow alive, we'll take him back. If we find his corpse, we'll retrieve it and put it back to where it belonged to." The other guardians simultaneously flinched at the word 'corpse'.

"When will we invade?" Lambo asked.

"Today."

"What the!?" Ryohei exclaimed, "Isn't that too sudden? Plus, without a decent plan we'll be overpowered by the Millefiore... again.."

Yamamoto agreed. "Ryohei has a point there, without a boss right now it's hard to conduct a successful invasion."

"I notified the Varia already. They are invading with us."

"Eh? The Varia agreed? Those fucking arrogant people agreed to help?" Gokudera was shocked. Actually he was more shocked that Hibari actually asked someone for help. Suddenly he felt ashamed of himself. While he was still mourning over Tenth's death, Hibari was actually doing something reasonable for the sake of the Tenth, and not being all ill-tempered and useless.

"If the Varia is willing to help us, I guess an invasion might be possible." Yamamoto nodded.

Gokudera growled. "Ya I can't wait to blast that Smiley-bastard into a bloody pulp."

"Revenge to the EXTREMEEE" Ryohei shouted loudly, while Lambo just smiled timidly, happy that everyone's energy and determination came back.

"You know it would be great if Tsuna is alive…"

"Let's not keep our hopes that high to avoid disappointment later on."

"Ya… no matter what, we'll at least bring the fucking Millefiore down to avenge for Tenth." The guardians all nodded in agreement."

* * *

Inside the Varia Castle, Xanxus sat at his throne with all of his guardians standing awkwardly in front of him. The room was a mess, because Xanxus had previously thrown a tantrum upon hearing that the Millefiore had broken into the Vongola's coffin. Broken shattered vase and glass decorated the floor, and drips of blood dotted the magenta carpet.

"That idiotic bastard.. dying like a pig just few weeks ago, and now his fucking guardians claimed that he might be fucking alive." He clenched his fist in anger.

"Nehh boss calm down…" Bel tried to say it in a soothing voice. "You know, you don't have to invade the Millefiore if you don't want to-"

"Shut the fuck up"

"Alright alright…" Bel sighed as he flung a dagger at Fran out of boredom.

Fran nonchalantly pulled the dagger from his back and dropped it onto the floor. "Neh… Even though I've only seen the Vongola once, I think he's a really nice guy." Then he continued in a whisper, "No wonder Xanxus-sama would favour him."

Suddenly a cup was flung in Fran's direction, but he calmly took a sidestep and dodged it. "I do not favour that fucking bastard!" The boss seethed in anger.

"So fucking stubborn…" Squalo murmured with annoyance. "So are we supposed to just wait here for the Vongola's signal?"

"Fuck ya." The Varia boss answered without hesitation as he leaned back into his throne and stared out of his wide panelled windows.

"Neh.. The moon sure is bright today." Fran commented matter-of-factly.

"Hmph, It's too fucking bright." Never the less, Xanxus' gaze never left the midnight sky. _You better fuckin be alive… Tsunayoshi._

_

* * *

  
_

Glo Xinia, the 8th Captain of the Millefiore, strode down the white corridor with his head held high. Upon hearing the announcement of the upcoming meeting, he had quickly fixed his appearance before making his way to the meeting room. Making a good impression to the boss was very important, especially for a prideful person like him.

As he was about to turn left to another endless hallway, he saw Leonardo Lippi walking towards him.

"Glo Xinia-san!" Leonardo smiled and bowed politely. "Byakuran-sama asked me to tell you to pick up a report from his office."

Glo Xinia's eyes twitch a few times. "Why did he specifically ask me? Isn't that your job?"

Leonardo shook his head, "Byakuran-sama told me that the report was for you to see only, even I am not allowed to read it."

Pride suddenly surged up within him as Glo Xinia considered Leonardo's words. _A report… only for me? Perhaps Byakuran feels that I was loyal enough and would give me top secret information and a mission. _He smiled proudly at being acknowledged for his loyalty. "Wait but I can't be late for the meeting!"

"Don't worry about it, Byakuran said it's fine if you are late since getting the report is your first priority."

Glo Xinia nodded. "Then please report to Byakuran-sama that I will get it as soon as I can." He turned and walked towards the other hallway which Byakuran's office was located.

He quickened his pace when the door to the office was in his sight. However as he stopped infront of the door, he was faced with a problem… How the hell was he suppose to go in when the door was locked? Usually Byakuran would be inside his office, and with a push of a button on his desk, the door would unlock. That Leonardo Lippi must've forgotten to give him a key or something… His eyes twitched with annoyance as he held the knob of the door.

"If only you stupid stupid thing would ope---" With a turn of his hand, the door unexpectedly clicked and opened, leaving Glo Xinia quite surprised. _It was probably unlocked since Byakuran-sama knew that I was coming in to get the report…._

He stared at the eerily silent and dark room before he reached to the side of the wall to flick the light switch on. He quickly walked into the room and swiftly closed the door shut.

_Seriously… why is this room so cold?_Glo Xinia shivered as he crossed the white, spacious floor. _Everything about this room just creeps me out… _He quickly scanned through Byakuran-sama's desk, which was sparkly clean with no signs of any sort of paperwork. _So… where is the report? _He was about to open a cabinet to check when he heard a strange sound… like a tiny squeak.

"Who's there?" He immediately turned around with his hand gripping his box weapon. His owl was already perched on his shoulder, ready to attack. However when all he saw was the blank wall and a plain white clock that hanged on it, he relaxed.

Then… his eyes widened once again as he stared at the wall that suddenly swung open, revealing a narrow stairway.

_A secret passage? _Excitement shot through Glo Xinia. Then suddenly he remembered a certain rumour that he had heard when he was passing a group of scientists.

_I heard that __Byakuran-sama stole his corpse and kept it in the Millefiore! _

He had easily dismissed the rumour as nothing more than a joke. However now seeing the hidden passage, perhaps it might really be what he was thinking?

With the meeting and the report long forgotten, he ran down the stairway, eager to see what was down there. Soon he was lead to a spacious room, and there, sitting against the wall, using a Millefiore uniform as a blanket, was the Vongola Boss, Sawada Tsunayoshi..

Glo Xinia stared at the figure, his eyes eating away at every little detail. The long strands of hair that reached the naked shoulders, those tiny red marks on the neck, the bruises on his arms and legs, the emotionless eyes that were staring back at him, and the trembling hand that was clutching tightly on the white uniform… Everything suddenly clicked in his head.

"Hehehe… so the rumours were true?" Glo Xinia smirked as he gently petted his owl. "I never thought I'll ever see the almighty Vongola in this state…" He licked his lips as he walked closer. "How deliciously seductive…" His eyes twitched at the thought of taking that uniform away from the Vongola's slim body… the naked, quivering body… "I wonder what Byakuran did to make you so… scared?"

The Vongola only gave him a blank look, so instead, Glo Xinia laughed. "Well I'm hungry, so I might as well take this opportunity to feast…" His hand caressed the side of the Vongola's face. _Ah… so smooth and soft… _He thought as his hand travelled down to the neck.

"F-fuck off you pervert." The Vongola croaked, with a barely audible voice. Glo Xinia only sneered at the Vongola's attempt to shy away from the touches, so he used his thumb and pressed against a bruise.

"Ngh!" _Ah… what a lovely sound… _Glo Xinia gazed into the brown caramel eyes. Seeing hints of trepidation and fear showing beyond that mask of blank expression was just too satisfying for him.

With trembling hands, the Vongola tried to push the hand away, but he was too weak. Glo Xinia's eyes twinkled with lust, and his hand began to reach down to pull the uniform away from the Vongola… when suddenly something flashed by and the Millefiore captained screamed.

"What the hell!?" Glo Xinia jumped back and held his hand in pain, which was bleeding extensively from a fairly deep wound.

Alarmed at the sudden change of event, Tsuna looked up, trying to comprehend what had just happened, when suddenly he felt a chill down his spine. It was a trepidation that wasn't related to fear, it was something strangely familiar.

_No way…_For the first time in these past few days of torture, Tsuna's emotionless facade finally broke, and his eyes widened with too many different feelings abrupting within him.

"Why.. why did you attack me?" Glo Xinia shouted at his own box animal as it flew and perched onto the Vongola's shoulder.

"_Still don't understand yet?"_

Glo Xinia stared, as one of his owl's piercing eyes turned red. "Your kidding me… how is that possible.."

The owl began to dissipate, and from the newly transpired mist, a dark figure emerged and stood in front of Tsunayoshi, who looked as shock as Glo Xinia.

The figure spoke with a voice that was beyond anger.

"_Ku fu fu… Glo Xinia, are you ready to feel the taste of hell?_"

* * *

**Author's Note  
**

**YAY DONE! Haha omgg before I was gonna end with Tsuna being molested by Glo Xinia, but ithought that this cliffie would be more interesting xD!  
Yesss I can't wait to torture Glo Xinia *__*!! Haha jkjk~~ But seriously I never really liked him from the manga, he's such a pervert ;( THat's why I gave him such a perfect role in this chapter XD!  
**

**I hadn't planned on involving the Varia in this story, they'll probably help out in the future, but they won't appear that much!~  
Also remember how I said that this chapter was suppose to be all flashbacks? lol I changed my mind since I realized that maybe I should write the flashback as a DIFFERENT STORY~~  
So yaa you guys might see a story with a name similar to "Moonlight". I'm still thinking of a name lol :D I wish I could use "twilight", but then people would mistaken it as a vampire story XD!**

**Anyway if I am really gonna write it as a prequel of "Moonlight ", the rating of that fic is gonna be MATURE (all cuz of 18 and 69 xD). Yes I've already got many of the plot in my head. Since I'm not including those flashbacks in this fic, (maybe some :3) this fic shall stay "T"! Haha okay I'll stop blabbing about it!**

**For 1827 fans, sorry for the lack of Hibari! I know that Pineapple has been getting a lot of moment of glory, but dont worry, Hibari will have some soon *__*!**

**Okay once again, thank you guys for reading and reviewing!! **

**Remember to R&R :D!**


	5. The Illusionists

**I finally updated the fifth chapter! I deeply apologize for those who waited so long for this chapter! I am very very sorry! I should've put a 'hiatus' warning on my profile when I took a long break from so people didn't have to constantly check for updates. (And yes thanks for all the people that voted in my poll! Most people wanted this one to update so I did~)**

**Anyways on with the story! **

* * *

"Ku fu fu… Glo Xinia, are you ready to feel the taste of hell?"

* * *

The moment the mist melted into thin air, the presence of the mist guardian was unmistakable. Tall, slender, with eyes like a vulture, he was the notorious, dangerously powerful illusionist, Mukuro Rokudo.

Glo Xinia gawked at him, appalled by his sudden intrusion._ Shit… Damn Vongola Dogs… interrupting my business… _The lustful glint in his eyes were no longer there as he swore under his breath. Assessing his situation, he knew some basic information about Mukuro, so it shouldn't be too difficult to defeat him. _Ya why should I be scared? Just because he is quite infamous, it doesn't mean that he is as powerful as me, not to mention that I am Milliefiore's elite illusionist. _

Glo Xinia snickered as he regained his confidence. "What a dirty trick, Mukuro Rokudo, possessing my owl like that. I never though you would go so low just to save someone. When were you so tamed?"

"Ku fu fu, don't just assume things by yourself. What made you think I came here to save the Vongola?" Mukuro laughed.

Looking up, Tsuna could see the towering back of Mukuro Rokudo and his long flowing hair. Though he couldn't see his face, he could feel the silent rage emitting from Mukuro's presence. He leaned forward and gently touched the guardian. "Mukuro…" He whispered, and he felt the guardian stiffened in response.

Turning around, Mukuro kneeled down with his back facing Glo Xinia. The odd coloured eyes gazed into the brown caramel eyes as he gently caressed the side of the Vongola's face. "Are you alright?" He said under his breath; their foreheads almost touching.

"Mukuro" Tsuna whispered again, his voice quivering. He wanted to stay strong and pretend that he was okay; however, all the fears and tears that he had locked away in his heart seemed to flood his mind once more. "I'm fine… worry about yourself first. You shouldn't turn your back against the enemy-"

"Shush." Mukuro pressed his finger on Tsuna's lips. "I'll take care of the rest. For now just sleep…"

"What? Wait I don't want to…" Tsuna tried to look away, but Mukuro turned his face so their eyes met again. As Tsuna stared at the numbers spin in Mukuro's right eye, his eyelids became heavy, and within seconds, he fell asleep. The guardian moved Tsuna so he was laying on the ground with the white uniform as a blanket.

Glo Xinia was speechless as he watched the interactions between the guardian and the Vongola boss. He could have attacked the damn illusionist anytime, however the way those two seemed to be in their own little world, a world where no one could interfere or step into… And that genuine, worried expression on the infamous illusionist's face was something that he had never seen or heard about...

"Kufufu... aren't you awfully quiet?"

Hearing the mocking voice brought Glo Xinia back to reality again. He glanced up and realized that this was not the same Mukuro Rokudo as before. There were no signs of the caring and gentle gaze that had just existed a moment ago. Now the only thing left in those eyes were pure malice… directed at him. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he realized that in his own arrogance and egotism, he had underestimated Mukuro.

"H- Haha… " Glo Xinia took a deep breath as he tried to tug his faltering confidence and pride back. "You should thank me for allowing you and your boss to talk without my interruption. I wonder why you made him unconscious huh?"

A harsh, derisive laugh echoed through the room. "Oh my aren't you funny? Do you really want to know?" He continued without waiting for an answer. "Tsunayoshi absolutely detests killing people,however, I am not a kind-hearted person like him. So now that he is asleep, I can do whatever I want with you without listening to his troublesome complaints… Isn't that nice?"

Glo Xinia wanted to say something, but words were lost in his mind. His hand unconsciously fumbled for his box on his belt.

"Oya oya… what shall I do with you?" Mukuro took a step forward and smirked at Glo Xinia, who already broke into a cold sweat. He swung his tridents provokingly. "Without your puny owl, you're just a useless human." The aura of wrath and blood-thirst seemed to besiege the illusionist.

The room suddenly felt chillier every second. Searching deep inside his mind, Glo Xinia finally grasped onto the remains of his pride. "…. Don't joke around with me." He managed to push his fear aside and leered. "You're just an illusion that possessed my owl. And as Millifiore's best illusionist, illusions are nothing but air to me!" He opened his box swiftly and a trident appeared. "Hahaha don't you underestimate me! The powerful, glorious Glo Xi-"

Before he even finished his sentence, Mukuro dashed forward, and their tridents clashed. "Kufufu, if you're so confident, mind explaining to me why your hands are shaking?"

"Shut up!" He screamed as he swung his trident wildly. For a split second, he realized that Mukuro had disappeared. He turned and glanced frantically around. The surrounding seemed to be twirling and distorting out of shape. Shadows crawled below him, expanding and gradually smothering the marble white wall into darkness. The ground no longer seemed solid, though his feet was stable, he could feel the tremor below him, as if something was about to burst through…

"Ah Hahaha… What an illusion!" Glo Xinia laughed, though his legs were trembling with trepidation. "All I need to do is close my eyes and concentrate, then this simple illusion trick will disappear-"

A bloody hand reached out through a crack in the ground and clasped around his legs. Before he had time to respond, a violent force pushed Glo Xinia until he hit a solid wall. The strong impact left him so dazed that he didn't have enough energy to escape the mass of bloody limps that had squirmed through the cracks and pinned the Pink-haired illusionist tightly against the wall. "What the hell is this?" He screamed as he choked on the acrid smell of rotting flesh.

"Ku fu fu… This is my world." The Vongola guardian sauntered in from the darkest corner of this horrid place.

"You bastard! Let me go!" Glo Xinia struggled vainly. The hands, arms, legs, or whatever else that was clinging onto him seemed to want to pull him to the other side of the wall.

The illusionist snickered with no sympathy. "Seems like they like you a lot. Perhaps you should join them in hell." He pointed his trident at the struggling figure. "Well now, let me ask you a few questions. Where you the one who broke into the coffin and conjured an illusion of the lid?"

"What are you talking about?"

The trident suddenly jerked forward, with its sharp tips just barely touching the neck. "Ku fu fu… I asked you to answer my question, not ask another question. So was it you?"

"No no no! It wasn't me! I really don't know what your talking about!" Glo Xinia denied vehemently as he squirmed away from the trident in vain.

Mukuro lowered his weapon. "Hm… okay next question. Did you enjoy touching Tsunayoshi?"

Glo Xinia's eyes widened, not because of the straight-forward question, but because of the sudden intangible darkness that surrounded Mukuro as he spoke. The hands and limbs that acted as manacles tightened their grips.

_Is this disgusting place even an illusion? _ Glo Xinia thought, _Or else why can't I overcome it and leave this damn illusional dimension? _He felt his heartbeat raced with fear, as he stared at the intimidating figure in front of him.

"I guess that means you enjoyed it." Without hesitation, Mukuro pierced the trident through the palm of Glo Xinia's right hand and pinned it there against the wall.

"G-Gahh!" He let out a piercing scream as he felt his warm blood flow down his arm and down the floor, creating a red puddle among the darkness.  
Mukuro leaned in and watched his face twist in pain. "So how did it feel to dirty him with your hands? Did it satisfy your dirty fantasies?"

"G-gah! You demon!" Glo Xinia gritted his teeth in pain.

"Yes I am a demon. Now please answer my question…" He waited for a few seconds before he continued, "kufufu or are you in too much pain to answer?" Without waiting for a reply, Mukuro pulled the trident from the pink-haired man's palm, resulting in more splattering of blood.

"Che..." The wounded arm hung down on Glo Xinia's side. "You bastard... I wasn't the one that dirtied him! And why do you care so much about that pretty-face? He's already dirtied, raped, touched by Byakuran-sama over and over-"

The trident swung unexpectedly, slashing Glo Xinia's chest mercilessly. He shrieked in pain.  
Mukuro stared at him with no sympathy. "So you're saying that you didn't touch him at all?"

"I.. I- but it wasn't me! I.. I wasn't the one dirtied him!" He stuttered as he tried to breathe through his pain. "But I did.. just… touched him for a bit!" He glanced up and realized that he couldn't look away from the ominous, red eye.

"Oya oya… then I hope you enjoyed it, because it'll be your last time."

"Last time..?"

"Your last time being able to touch Tsunayoshi." Mukuro smiled, his red eye was burning.

"Huh..?" Glo Xinia panicked. From the corner of his eyes and saw the damn trident move from its resting position, with fresh blood still dripping down. "W-wait! No you can't- You damn demon- you can't do this.. Stop-"

The sentence ended with blood curling screams.

* * *

Tsunayoshi jolted awake. He found himself staring at the marble white ceiling... It took a few seconds before he realized where he was and how he ended there. _Mukuro was... _

Then he heard blood curling screams, and something thudded onto the floor.

_Shit, something happened. _With all his might, he managed to sit up and leaned on the wall for support. In front of him was a grotesque sight. Glo Xinia laid mangled on the floor; his body was soaked in his own pool of blood. As for Mukuro, he stood there staring at the helpless body with no particular expression.

Tsunayoshi noticed the flaming crimson eye and the demonic aura. He swallowed with difficulty. _This situation seems so familar... I have to stop him before he gets out of control-. _His thought was broken when he saw Mukuro's demonic smile. It was as if he haven't had enough of torturing Glo Xinia. The trident was raised... and Tsunayoshi shouted.

"Mukuro!" Even though his voice cracked and sounded weak, he knew he got the guardian's attention since he stopped his movement.

The illusionist turned his head slowly and stared into Tsunayoshi's caramel eyes. His odd coloured eyes seemed to dilate as he realized what he was staring at.

"Didn't I tell not to kill anyone?" Each word was emphasized carefully. Tsunayoshi gulped anxiously when Mukuro just stared at him... Then the familiar warmth in the odd-coloured eyes came back.

"Kufufu you weren't suppose to wake up yet, Tsunayoshi." Mukuro said. "And to answer your question, I didn't kill anyone." His eyes hovered back to the body. "He's just unconcious."

Tsunayoshi was about to comment on how "unconcious" was seriously an understatement, when suddenly he jerked forward and coughed up bloodstained fluid. The coughing fit lasted for a few seconds before it subsided. Weakly, he leaned back only to find himself in the arms of his guardian.

"Your so weak right now... it reminds me of how you were ten years ago." Mukuro commented, with hints of concern. He easily broke the chain that was still on Tsuna's wrists. Even though he was careful with removing it, the metal still scraped past the open wounds on the delicate wrists, causing Tsuna to wince in pain.

When the chains were off, Mukuro stared unhappily at the white uniform.

"_He's already dirtied, raped, touched by Byakuran-sama over and over-" _

The damn annoying voice seemed to echo through his brain. If Tsunayoshi hadn't woken up, he would've probably tortured Glo Xinia even more... Perhaps he should've slowly cut his limbs and let him bleed a painful death, then decapitate him...

Mukuro took of his black jacket and tugged at the white uniform that was covering Tsuna's bare body.

"Don't!" Involuntarily, Tsuna slapped the hand away, almost in a paranoid way. His other hand held the uniform tightly.

"Oya oya calm down, I just wanted to cover you with this instead..." Mukuro said in a soothing voice and dangled his jacket infront of Tsuna's face.

Tsuna loosened his grip on the uniform. "Sorry my mind is so screwed up right now... I'm not acting like myself..." His voice trembled slightly. "Let's get out of here..." He took the jacket from Mukuro and hesitated.

"I won't look if that's what your worried about." Mukuro said flatly as he turned his head away. He knew Tsuna was probably scared to reveal how dirtied he was. What Tsuna didn't know was that Mukuro had already seen his body when he was covering it with the white uniform. _All the bruises and obvious signs of abuse... _He pushed those thoughts away from his mind... He'll deal with those later.

"I'm done." Tsuna said. The jacket was all buttoned up and covered all the way up to his knees. The sleeves were long, but it covered the wounds on his wrists. As the warmth of the jacket seeped into his body, he realized how cold he had been.

Mukuro took the white uniform and flung it on top Go Xinia's unconscious body. "We have to hurry, before the Millefiore realized that someone had hacked into their computer system."

"Was that how you opened that automatic door?" Tsuna pointed towards the dark stairway, where the white door used to be.

The guardian smirked. "Do I look like a hacker to you?"

"... then who?"

"I"ll explain to you later." He extended an arm out. "Here, get up."

Tsuna took it and tried to pull himself up. The movement brought excruciating pain to his lower back, causing him to lose balance.

With quick reflex, Mukuro's arm caught him by his waist, and his other arm scooped under those fragile legs and lifted Tsuna up, carrying him like a bride.

"Muku-!" Tsuna was about to protest but he was cut off by the guardian.

"Shh..."

The guardian stood still, his eyes looked distant, as if he was staring at something that no one else could see. _Perhaps he is concentrating on the other bodies that he had possessed... _Tsunayoshi thought.

After few seconds, Mukuro murmured as he started walking up the stairs. "The Millefiore is still having a meeting right now... so Byakuran won't be back anytime soon." He was careful not to sway too much to minimize Tsuna's lower back pain. When he reached the top, he walked into the spacious office, and stopped at the door that would lead to the hallway. He pressed his ear against the door and listened for any sounds outside.

Tsuna stared back at the hidden passage door. _I'm finally out of that horrid room. _Tsuna thought as he blinked his eyes a few times to adjust to the brightness of the room. He didn't know if it was the light that stung his eyes, or if it was the sudden realization of what he had to go through for the last few days that brought tears to his eyes._ I promised myself to never cry in front of other people..._

But somehow Mukuro was always an exception.

The calm facade that had masked his fear and hopelessness finally crumbled.

"What's wrong?" Mukuro looked down and noticed that Tsuna had buried his face in his chest. Then he heard quiet sobbing sounds.

"I-I wasn't... gonna cry.." Tsuna tried to fight back the tears as he looked up into the odd-coloured eyes.

Mukuro froze for a second. Even though this was his second time seeing Tsuna in this state, his mind still became muddled as he tried to think of what to do. _Why do I always have to deal with his tears... _He hated how Tsuna's tears always stirred up emotions that he usually didn't have.

"Oi... it's okay to cry..." Mukuro leaned in and kissed Tsuna's forehead. His lips travelled to the side of his head and he whispered soothingly into Tsuna's ears. "It'll feel better if you just let it out."

"Mukuro..." Then Tsuna cried his heart out. After few minutes of letting all his tears out, he sniffled a few more time before he regained part of his calmness. "Okay... I'm fine now"

The guardian kissed away his tears. "Good." He then turned the knob of the door slowly. "Once we're out I'll have to run, so you'll have to bear with the pain okay?"

Tsuna nodded.

The door opened and Mukuro dashed across the empty hallway. Millefiore was like a maze, but he had the map of the place clearly in his mind. He turn into another corridor and took another route with the least people and then...

_Shit _He swore under his breath as he saw two men cloaked in white Millefiore uniform in the corner of his eyes. He dashed into the closest alleyway and hid behind a stack of crates. If he had been alone, it would have been so easy to take care of those two men... _However Tsunayoshi is so vulnerable and weak right now..._

He carefully put Tsuna on the ground and gestured him to lean against the crates. He was about to stand up when suddenly he felt pain in his left eye. His placed his hand over it and swore under his breath.

"What's wrong?" Tsuna touched his face. _I have a bad feeling about this..._ he thought when he noticed that part Mukuro's body seemed to be turning more and more transparent. "Mukuro answer me!" He whispered urgently as he gently shook the guardian's shoulder.

"Oya oya.. this is bad... I underestimated Byakuran." Mukuro said. "I guess this body won't last any longer..."

"Muku-!"

The guardian leaned forward and kissed him on the lips before Tsuna could say anything else. "I'll have to go and deal with Byakuran first. You stay here and don't make any sound okay? The Vongola-" Before the sentence was finished, Mukuro's body faded away, and the body of an owl laid on the ground.

_Mukuro..._ Tsuna bit his lips. For Mukuro to disappear like that, it meant that something must have happened to his actual body... _Please be safe._ He thought as he took the owl and cradled it in his arms.

Then he heard footsteps and voices coming closer and closer... to his hiding spot.

_Oh no..._ Tsuna held his breath and hugged the owl tightly. _Please don't come!_

* * *

**KK i hope you guys enjoyed it! For those who are wondering what happened to Mukuro, think about what happened to him in the manga. As for what will happen to Tsuna in the next chapter... I'll leave it up to your imaginations! **

**Also I am going to change the story to "M" since**

**1) Byakuran already bordered it  
****2) it will happen in future chapters :D**

OKay that's it for now! I look forward to reading your comments! 

**R&R 3**


	6. The Invasion

Then he heard footsteps and voices coming closer and closer... to his hiding spot.

_ Oh no..._ Tsuna held his breath and hugged the owl tightly. _Please don't come!_

* * *

The footsteps halted just before the crates, and a voice echoed through the alleyway "Okay so this is where the Millefiore store some of their firearms. You see that crate over there? That contains some of our best equipments."

Another man replied. "So that is what the commander ordered us to carry all the way to the training room? A freakin crate? Oh man, I can just imagine how heavy it'll be"

Tsuna's eyes dilated with apprehension when he realized that the crate which he was leaning on might be the one that the Millefiore men wanted to move.

"Man, how do you keep track of all these crates? They all look freakin identical." The man's voice dripped with complaints. "Why is my job such a pain in the ass..."

"Ray, will you stop complaining?" The other man sighed, "At least I'm here to help you."

The footsteps were drawing closer.

_There are two men... there's no way I can outrun them if I try to escape now._ Tsuna knew he was in no condition to do any physical activities, yet he knew that if he were to stay hidden behind the crate, the men were bound to spot him. He tried to think of a reasonable plan, but then he realized that it was impossible since his mind was fogging up due to the build-up of dehydration and fatigue in his body for the past few days. The crates around him seemed to be swirling and swirling as he tried to search for a way to escape from here without having to deal with those two men...

The echos of the footsteps grew louder and louder.

Tsuna held his breath as he watched the pearl white shoes move with ease across the alleyway. They had walked right passed the crate where Tsuna was hiding, totally oblivious of his existence. It was all good until one of the men turned around, and almost immediately, found himself gazing at the apprehensive, caramel eyes of the Vongola.

The man froze, as if he was unable to comprehend what he was seeing right now.

"Hey you, Ray! This is suppose to be your job so you should help me out here." The other man called out. "Don't stand there like you've never seen crates before, you look as if you've just seen a-" Then he realized what his partner was staring at, and his eyes opened wide in shock, "... seen... the... what the hell?" He dropped the clipboard which he was holding.

_Oh shit. _Tsuna swore under his breath as he stared at them with unwavering eyes. He was totally cornered by two Millefiore men, and right now he was gloveless, weaponless, and powerless, and all he could do right now was to wait for the right timing... and attempt to escape.

"Who are you?" The man instinctively flashed out a pocketknife from his pocket. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey Kon! Calm down and put that knife down, can't u see that he is pretty helpless right now? I think if he was capable of hurting us, he would've done so the moment we had walked into this alley." Ray explained with annoyance.

"But an intruder is an intruder regardless of appearance! That was what our commander had taught us!"

Tsuna watched as Ray smirked at the comment. Their eyes met and when the corner of his mouth shifted up slightly, Tsuna immediately loathed the man's patronizing stare.

"Dear Kon I think you better check your vision if you honestly believe that he is simply an infiltrator."

The other man's eyebrow shifted up, obviously perplexed. "You mean... perhaps a Millefiore's prostitute?"

Ray bursted out laughing, the raspy sound was comparable to a family of croaking crows. After his howling subsided, he remarked. "Oh Kon you really are fucking foolish. Look carefully at his pretty features."

"His?" Kon's eyebrow twitched as he scrutinized the figure. Suddenly, a look of horrific realization emerged. "Aren't you the Vongola?" The man exclaimed incredulously, his voice screeched as he took a sudden step back. "Aren't you suppose to be dead? W-why are you here?"

"Seems like we have just discovered a scandal." Ray shifted his eyes to the cornered figure and chuckled cockily. "Am I right, Vongola?"

Tsuna answered him with a glare.

"Well well it is nice meeting you, though I would have never expected to see you like this." He snickered as he eyed the Vongola's scanty attire.

Tsuna shifted uneasily under the greedy gaze.

"How scandalous... appearing in your enemy's territory with nothing but a coat, perhaps the rumours I've heard are true?" In the corner of his eyes, he noticed Kon fumbling for his phone in the pockets of his white uniform. Ray immediately grabbed his arm. "Wait what the hell are you doing?"

"We have to report this to our commanders! B-byakuran-sama would definitely reward us for this big discovery! We could be promoted to a much higher rank with this!" He was about to press the numbers on his phone when Ray slapped it away, and the phone slid onto the ground and glided to a stop near Tsuna.

"Don't report yet!" Ray growled.

"What the hell! Y-you didn't have to wreck my phone like that! And why do you want to miss your chance of being promoted?" The man sighed.

"No, you can report later, but just not now." Ray snickered. "Think about it Kon, how rare is it for us to be able see the 'Almightly Vongola' in a helpless state like this?"

"Very rare..." Kon's eyes scanned Tsuna from head to toe, and he realized that he couldn't look away from the slender body.

_Perverted bastards..._Tsuna gritted his teeth in disgust.

Ray laughed. "So Vongola, mind explaining to us what happened? We would like to know." He approached, and he felt the immense superiority growing within him as he towered over the helpless figure.

When the Vongola did not reply, he tried again. "Let me ask you again, did Byakuran-sama really kidnapped you and locked you away in his secret chamber like what various rumours had suggested?"

_Rumours about me were circulating Millefiore?_ Tsuna stared at him blankly, still trying to process the situation right now. A dull throbbing headache began to crescendo.

"Hey, did you become dumb and deaf? Answer me!" Ray scowled impatiently.

Kon sighed. "I think there's no use asking him questions if he doesn't answer."

"Then why don't we just find out ourselves." The man was crouching down in front of Tsuna now. "Man, you are in such a disheveled state... It reminds me of how I look like after rounds of delicious sex..." He licked his own lips as he leaned closer. Then, something caught his eyes. "Eh? Are those kiss marks that I see?"

Kon exclaimed incredulously, "Kiss marks?"

"Yup… Look like you are no ordinary prisoner... Maybe I should mark you too like what Byakuran-sama did!" Ray moved closer, preparing to savage his vulnerable prey.

_Sick bastard. _

Suddenly, with one quick, calculated movement, Tsuna snatched the cellphone beside him and thrusted it right onto the man's face, jabbing his right eye precisely with as much force as he could muster. The corner of the device sunk into the vulnerable flesh, which instantaneously elicited frantic shrieks from the man.

"Ah fuck!" Ray staggered back at the unexpected attack. The cellphone dropped onto the ground, decorated with new spots of blood. His hands covered the wounded eye as he tried desperately to ease the excruciating pain. "You fucking...!" Then he gasped. Even with one eye, he could see that the Vongola had somehow obtained a gun from the crate behind him, and the weapon was aimed mercilessly at him. "Hey wait! Don't-!"

Tsuna's finger latched onto the trigger. "Don't move!" He commanded with voice that dripped with the absolute authority of an Italian boss.

The man stuttered frantically. "Wow okay calm down... I'm not gonna move."

_Shit there is still one more man.. _With his peripheral vision, Tsuna tried to scan around, but a wave of nausea hit him, and he could feel the acidic taste in his throat and the burning sensation in his head. Everything seemed blurry and distorted. Tsuna leaned back slightly against the crate for support.

"You are sweating and trembling you know..."

Tsuna swirled around at the close proximity of the voice. The sudden movement caused him to feel unbearably light-headed.

"It's useless Vongola." The other man appeared before him and tightly gripped onto the tip of the gun. "The gun is not loaded. All the bullets are in another crate."

Before he could attempt to prove that the barrel was indeed empty, Kon shoved him onto the crates and slapped the gun away.

"Tch..!" Tsuna winced painfully as the harsh wooden surface grazed against his lower back and hit the back of his head. He immediately scrambled to escape from the man's clutch, but powerful arms had already pinned him down. He stifled a hiss when the wounds on his wrist from his previous abuse opened up. The hands tightened around the raw skin, and sickening memories of the violation of his body flooded his mind.

"Yeah Kon, excellent job for cornering him! But ya should've told me earlier that the guns were unloaded! Sheesh scared the shit out of me!" The injured man staggered over and examined the captive body with a combination of enmity and lust. "You motherfucker... how dare you attack me and threaten me with a gun when I was being so nice to you! Maybe doing you once or twice will teach you not to fuck with me!"

"Let me go." The Vongola's voice trembled.

"Ray," Kon said anxiously upon observing the Vongola's sickly state, "he doesn't seem very well right now..." He stared at the stained cuffs of Vongola's oversized coat. With one hand still firmly gripping his two wrists, Kon decided to pull up the sleeves of Tsuna's coat, which revealed cuts and scratches on his wrists, covered with dried patches of blood. And a glimpse further down the sleeve showed more signs of bruises…With a horrified gasp, he immediately let go of the thin wrists. The obvious signs of abuse underneath the coat left him feeling overwhelmed with guilt. He had heard rumours of how Byakuran was infatuated with the Vongola, yet he didn't think it would be like this.

"Ray... this is not right!" Kon stuttered as he stared at his own hands, now dyed with faint speckles of blood that did not belong to him.

"You shut up. " Ray retaliated. "You see my bloody eye? My freakin bloody eye? I can't let him go unless I get my revenge. I don't pity people unlike you!"

"Ray, I really don't think you should-"

"Fuck you-"

"Please, you-"

The bickering became a blur of noise to Tsuna. His eyes could no longer focus, as if an opaque glass had covered his vision.

There was a yelp of surprise, and Kon's voice was no longer heard.

"That punch shall teach you a lesson. I will not let you ruin this rare opportunity. Just stand there and watch me."

Though his mind no longer processed the words, Tsuna knew what was coming. He shut his eyes and tried to tuck his emotions away. _Like what I did in order to endure what Byakuran did to me..._

But it was easier this time, since he was drowsy and on the brim of unconsciousness.

He could feel the clumsy hands trying to unbutton his coat when a rhythmical stomping echoed through the alleyway. A low humming accompanied each firm step, and Tsuna wondered if it was merely the sound produced from his throbbing headache. But it was not, for the hands froze, and breaths were held.

_ The bastards heard it too_...

Tsuna instinctively tried to analyze the sound, but exhaustion overcame him. He couldn't tell the difference between the pounding in his head and the clutter of noises in reality. His mind was on the verge of exploding.

"Shit, what is that sound?"

"I don't know, but I think we better leave..."

The sound grew louder exponentially. And the men's panic became apparent.

"Fuck! What is that-"

Tsuna did not see, for the last thing he heard was deafening explosions and the blood-curling scream of the two men, and amidst the chaos, a surprised voice...

_"Vongola?"_

* * *

The atmosphere of the central computer room was tense. The remains of the door were scattered over the floor, accompanied with an unpleasant smell of burnt wood. Standing near the doorway, Byakuran poised elegantly with his right arms extended out. It was as if he wanted to ensure that the crimson blood, which ran along his arms, would not drip onto his white attire. He smiled mockingly. "What's wrong, Leo-kun? Why the surprised face?"

On the chair across from Byakuran was Leonardo with his hands covering his right eye. Blood was oozing out uncontrollably from a deep gash just below his right eye, gushing down and staining his white uniform. His pupils were dilated as he stuttered bewilderingly. "Byakuran-sama! What's the meaning of this? Why'd you suddenly attack me?"

"Oh that's a great question." Byakuran took a step closer. "How bout you answer my question first, Leo-kun. What were you doing in a room that clearly said 'no entry'?"

The man didn't reply.

"Or an even better question… What were you doing that engrossed you to the point where you were totally oblivious of my presence?"

A perplexed look surfaced. "I wasn't doing anything-"

"Oops, perhaps I should rephrase my sentence. Let's try again."Byakuran paused and continued. "What are you doing here, Mukuro Rokudo?"

The dilated eyes of the man on the chair narrowed, and the fear on his face was gone. "Ku fufu…" The man smirked as the colors of his eyes changed and his body slowly dissipated to reveal his true self. "I shall applaud you for being able to catch me off guard. As for your question, you should very well know why I am here." With one hand pressing against his right eye to stop the flow of blood, his other hand grasped onto his trident.

Byakuran smirked. "Well, I shall applaud you for being able to sneak into this room. Unfortunately, if you want to find Tsuna-kun, you are clearly in the wrong room."

The mention of Tsuna immediately reminded Mukuro of the obvious signs of abuse on the Vongola's body. The annoy voice of Glo Xinia echoed in his mind. _He's already dirtied, raped, touched by Byakuran-sama over and over- _He pushed the unnecessary thoughts away. _I've finished my job here… I need to get back to Tsunayoshi as soon as possible since he is not in a safe place yet._

Mukuro stood up and dark aura of hatred surrounded him. He smiled, but his eyes were cold. "Oya oya… I really don't have time to be chatting here with you. I shall take a leave now…" He closed his eyes. As his conscience slowly slipped away from Leonardo's body, his body began to dissipate. Then, he felt an intense electric shock, and he was back in the body that he had wanted to escape from. Mukuro's eyes widened with slight disbelief

"Oh? What's wrong? Did you just realize that you have dug your own grave by simply walking into this room?" Byakuran smirked. "This room is very important to me, therefore it has the most protective wards in the entire Millefiore fortress. Haven't you realized that you are unable to spread your conscious to your other bodies?"

_I have realized that…_ Mukuro thought. "Well then I guess I have no choice but to physical leave this place."

"Why are you in such a rush? There's no point in getting back a corpse." Byakuran smiled.

"You know…" Mukuro murmured, "you have no idea how much Tsunayoshi had trusted you, and yet you broke that trust so easily."

The statement came out of the blue. Byakuran hesitated as the word 'trust' resonated inside him like a guilty conscience. He regained his composure swiftly. "What do you mean broke his trust? Clearly the Millefiore were devastated by his death as well. I even ensured that the gunman was properly executed." Byakuran feigned a sigh. "You are clearly just angry that I stole your beloved boss' corpse aren't you?" The edge of his lips twitched up into a mocking grin. "When did you become such a tamed devil?"

Without a word, Mukuro dashed towards Byakuran with his trident. The two clashed as the trident was stopped just an inch away from piercing into Byakuran's heart. The numbers in the illusionist's eyes spun as he was about to release his diabolical power. And once again, he felt an electric shock through his body. It was as if an intangible barrier had blocked off access to his power.

"What's wrong?" The man whispered as he grasped the tip of the trident tightly to prevent the threatening tips from moving closer to him. "Did you just realize that you also cannot use your power here?" With his free arm, he punched the unguarded illusionist in the stomach. The illusionist fell back a few steps from the impact and immediately gained back his balance. His gloved hand was still covering his injured eye.

Mukuro swore under his breath.

"It is always so amusing to see an injured man pretending to be invincible." Byakuran laughed. "This place is basically inescapable." He swung Mukuro's trident around playfully. "Without your power, you cannot do anything, am I right?"

Mukuro chuckled bitterly. "Oya oya... I've underestimated you. However, there is no point in fighting me since this is not my real body, so it doesn't concern me."

"Yes, this is not your real body. But in this closed realm, you cannot escape from this body, therefore you cannot escape from the pain of getting hurt." Byakuran whispered. "You know… I've always wanted to annihilate the Vongola guardians. You guys are like the despicable swarm of bees that constantly surround the delicate, precious flower. You must be punished anyways for sneaking in here with the intention of stealing _him_ away from me...

He pointed the sharp edges of the trident towards the cornered illusionist with a fanatical gleam in his eyes.

"Let's see how I shall torture you."

* * *

A Millefiore guard stood idly in front of a massive wall of surveillance screens. He half-heartedly observed each screen while indulging in his favourite music from his booming headphone.

_Bam. Bam. Bam._

The guard flinched at the odd sounds. He fished out his music player from his pocket and examined it. It was still working perfectly fine, so surely the sound wasn't from it...

He heard another sound. This time it sounded like nails scraping against metals. _Probably from the construction upstairs..._ Luckily, his blaring music allowed him to easily ignore the unpleasant noise.

He was about to change a song when the floor began to tremble. Walls creaked and after one awkward pause of silence, something exploded. He whirled around and his mouth gaped wide open as he watched a part of the ceiling crashing onto the white, marble floors. Debris rained down like hail and dust surged into the room. It all happened so quickly that the guard was still unable to comprehend the situation. He froze as he prayed that it was all just a dream... perhaps he was just becoming delusional due to his long hours of exhausting, mundane job, or perhaps it was just his co-workers pulling a prank on him for slacking off... _Oh please let this be an illusion or Byakuran-sama would definitely decapitate my head for not watching the surveillance screens carefully!_. His train of thoughts shattered when he heard an unfamiliar voice exclaiming with delight.

"Bingo! We got the right spot to the extreme!"

As the air slowly cleared up, the guard could discern the shape of the figures in the midst of the debris. _Shit! It really is an invasion. _He was about to run away when he remembered that his job was not only to stare at screens, but also to report for any suspicious activity spotted.

_Well suspicious activity would definitely be an understatement for this..._

He grabbed the intercom and screamed frantically into it. "Emergency! There are intruders-"

A hand forcefully covered his mouth and an arm locked tightly around his neck. Another snatched away the intercom and crushed it with ease, as if breaking an eggshell.

"Mmmf!" The guard tried to scream. When the hand was removed, he opened his eyes and saw lit dynamites held threateningly close to his face. "Wait please don't kill me! I'm innocent!" The guard pleaded tearfully. "I'm just a guard doing my job!"

"Okay Gokudera I think that's enough. The man looks like he's about to faint." Someone said with a light chuckle.

"Fuck you! If it wasn't for him, we could've snuck in unnoticed! Maybe I should just blow up his head "

The thought of his own head bursting apart terrified him; the guard cried out, "Wait, please don't! I'll do anything!"

"Oh really? What can you do?" The man spat his cigarettes out and stomped on it angrily. "If you say something fucking useless, then you can say goodbye to this world." His hands waved across his pocket and produced another lit dynamite.

"Oh please anything but that!" The guard was shaking uncontrollably. "I-I am familiar with Millefiore! I can direct you to wherever you want!"

"Oh you might be more useful than I thought…" The dynamites moved away slightly. "Well then, tell us how we can get to Byakuran's place or I will blow up your head."

_Byakuran-sama's place?_ The guard swallowed nervously, as he tried to decide on whether to betray Byakuran-sama or to lose his own life in order to protect him… Finally, he made up his mind.

"Okay, I will lead you guys there…" The guard whispered anxiously. As the man grunted and extinguished the brightly-lit dynamite, the guard sighed with relief. "I know a secret passage that'll take you to the heart of Millefiore..." While he explained the overall route, he realized that his own face was perspiring heavily.

_Calm down, calm down. _The guard tried to breathe normally as he talked.

His heart was pounding furiously.

_I hope they can't see through my lies._...

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**After a long hiatus from , I am back! Thanks for all the reviews! I know I am notoriously unpredictable in terms of my updates, so thank you to those people who continue to follow this story :) **


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